Delaware bridge commission to increase tolls

Its new revenues will be used to build spans, make repairs, create police force.

December 11, 2001|By HAL MARCOVITZ Of The Morning Call

Tolls for cars will double while truck drivers face increases that in some cases will quadruple what they pay to cross the Interstate 78 and Route 22 toll bridges as well as five other bridges over the Delaware River.

The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission approved the new tolls at a meeting Monday in New Hope.

The increases, which will go into effect next fall, are needed to finance a $545 million plan to repair and replace bridges and provide security on the spans, according to Frank McCartney, the commission's executive director.

Tolls for cars on the Route 22 and Interstate 78 bridges, which connect the Easton and Phillipsburg areas, will increase from 50 cents to $1.

Other bridges affected by the toll hikes are the Portland-Columbia, Delaware Water Gap and Milford-Montague bridges, where tolls will increase for cars from $1 to $1.25. Tolls on the New Hope-Lambertville and Trenton-Morrisville bridges will increase from 50 cents to $1.

Truckers, who pay tolls based on the size of their vehicles, will be hit with bigger increases. Currently, the most a truck driver pays to cross a Joint Toll Bridge Commission bridge is $5; the highest toll will increase to $22.75 starting next fall.

The toll increases will affect about 377,000 drivers a day, about 30 percent of whom drive commercial vehicles.

The commission operates 20 bridges, 13 of which are free. Some of the agency's bridges are more than 70 years old. McCartney said a recent audit of the commission's properties recommended spending a minimum of $10 million a year in maintenance. Currently, he said, the commission spends about $3 million a year.

As a result, McCartney said, the commission has deferred more than $150 million in maintenance on its bridges, and it will take a $15 million-a-year maintenance budget to keep the bridges in repair.

"Bridges have a 50-year life cycle," McCartney said. "In order to extend that life cycle you have to reinvest. You have to do something in maintenance every year."

The commission approved the new tolls by a 9-1 vote.

Gloria Decker of Phillipsburg voted against the increase. She said she is concerned that motorists will avoid the higher tolls on the Interstate 78 and Route 22 bridges by using the Free Bridge, which will dump traffic into Phillipsburg. The Free Bridge connects Easton and Phillipsburg.

Decker said she believes that the toll increases are justified, but added, "With the problems it will create, I can't vote for it."

Several opponents of the toll hikes who spoke at the commission's meeting are from Phillipsburg.

Mayor Harry Wyant said, "We have a free bridge within a quarter-mile of the toll bridge. There will be a backup of traffic and people trying to avoid the tolls. The traffic will be increased tenfold."

Phillipsburg resident Matthew Benot said, "My house is a block and a half from S. Main Street. Traffic will be backed up a half-mile with people trying to avoid the Route 22 bridge."

McCartney said the commission is committed to a sign and bridge illumination program intended to encourage motorists to use toll bridges.

Other speakers said their businesses would suffer because of the toll hikes. Joe Imhoff, owner of an Easton automotive parts company, said he sends 19 small trucks a day over the commission's bridges.

He said, "Some people think business means big pockets. My pockets are empty. I can't afford this increase."

With the approval, the commission plans to launch a 10-year rehabilitation and construction program that includes:

Spending $152 million in maintenance on the bridges.

Establishing a bridge police force at a cost of $38 million. Currently, the commission relies on local and state police to provide security on the bridges. McCartney said the commission was prompted to establish a 38-officer force following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Spending $32 million to install an E-ZPass toll system on the bridges. Motorists who use E-ZPass can qualify for toll reductions of up to 40 percent.

Constructing two new bridges at a cost of $323 million. One bridge will run parallel to an existing span in the Yardley, Bucks County, area that carries Interstate 95 over the Delaware River. Both spans will be dedicated to I-95 lanes.

The other new bridge will replace the Trenton-Morrisville span. In addition, the construction plan includes adding new lanes to existing bridges, and dedicating some lanes to mass transit as well as bicycle and pedestrian traffic.